Act One Redone

Top secret abstract
from the concept sketchbook

No doubt about it, this graphic novel, Badin and the Secret of the Saami, is going into overtime. Since I have no money, it won't be going over budget. I just finished reworking Act 1. I broke Act 3 into two parts. So now I have four acts that make this graphic novel more like those old four-issue limited series comics I loved to collect in the 1980's: Cloak and Dagger, The Sub Mariner, The Falcon, Machine Man, etc.

It was actually exhilarating to work on Act 1 without the shackles of what is conventionally acceptable. Since I'm not seeking to fit in with any established publisher's way, there is just no need to worry about panel counts, word counts and glamorous panoramas. Clearly Frank Miller broke the mold and I'm going to follow his lead. He made a masterpiece out of the grotesque and elegant sides of the Batman ethos.

Re-writing Act 1—and the subsequent need to rewrite the other Acts—has really changed the story's presentation. It has allowed me to incorporate more detail, plot complexity and—contrary to popular belief—speed up the pacing ten-fold. Unfortunately, I haven't drawn anything since doing this. I just don't have the time. However, with a stronger script, drawing should come by much easier.